Hexes and X's (Z&C Mysteries, #3) Read Free Page B

pocket and pulled out a skeleton key. “I’m the only one who has this key.”
    Soon they were climbing a circling iron stairway that led them into the attic. There were boxes, a seamstress form, and miscellaneous items that Zo was sure an antique dealer would like to get a hold of. Basically, the floor was swept and there were no cobwebs.
    “How do you expect us to get all scared if there are no cobwebs?” kidded Claire.
    Matilda cackled. “Funny how the dark has a way of changing things.”
    “Mama, Matilda just scared me.”
    “It’s okay, baby.” Zo chuckled and rubbed the back of her daughter’s neck to loosen the chilling feeling.
    “Where is it?” asked Claire looking around.
    “Not here.”
    “What?!” the Kanes exclaimed in unison.
    “Patience.” Matilda walked a ways, pushed a couple of boxes aside, turned her skeleton key around to its ornate end and pushed it between wall slats. The slats sprung out a couple of inches, revealing that it was actually a concealed door. “This way,” she directed.
    They entered another attic room with a round window like a sun drawn by leaded panes. An iron ladder went up to the ceiling where there was a small door. “That leads up to the captain’s walk.”
    “That would be where the wrought iron fence goes around the flat part of the roof?” Zo asked.
    “That is correct, but we aren’t going up there.”
    “Is the sketch in here?” asked Claire.
    “Yes.” Matilda approached four of the wall’s especially old and chipped bricks. “There are bricks in this house, and lap and plaster, which you saw coming up the winding staircase.”
    “I knew we were walking within the skeleton of this house,” Zo said.
    “The key I’m using was just rattling around in a desk drawer. No one threw it away, I think because it is really kind of pretty, and now quite old. I suppose somebody in my family knew at one time it went to an attic door. Everyone knows that now, but what they don’t know is that the other end is a spring key to this further attic of the captain’s walk.”
    Matilda removed two of the bricks, leaving a red-orange dust on her fingers, then explained, “It looked to me as if the slat wall out there wasn’t well-seamed, and I was thinking about a little termite problem when I took my key to dig out a little of the dust. The normal key part was too thick so I turned it over and pushed in this ornate end and the wall popped out a couple of inches. I thought I had broken the damaged wall, but I saw hinges on the inside. I was delighted to make a discovery of the door, and, thus, this room.”
    Zo was already in adventure mode. She inquired, “I think just finding this room is a treasure. Do you suppose that there are many attics in this house because of all the varying roof tops?”
    “Could be. Sounds reasonable, I would guess.” Matilda reached in and pulled out a rolled paper, two-by-two feet. A black-looking finger bone held by a cord flopped around it.
    “Okay, that is really disgusting.” Claire grimaced.
    “You two can look the sketch over at your leisure.” She handed it to Zo since Claire was repulsed. After she closed and locked the secret door and then the attic door, she handed the key to Claire. “Be very careful with this. We don’t want anyone else to have it.” After a little more visiting, Matilda said goodbye, saying she had to go over some books in her office downstairs.
    Claire pushed the key down deep into her pants’ pocket. “What say we go get something to take to our room to eat as we look over the sketch?”
    “Let’s ,” Zo agreed, food often being on their minds. “I saw hot chocolate mix and cinnamon rolls.”
    “I saw cold chicken, corn on the cob and potato chips.”
    “Let’s have it all. Then tomorrow it is strictly salad and turkey sandwiches.”
    “Right! Grab the napkins,” Claire added.
    When they got up to their room, they unrolled the sketch and anchored it down to a table with perfume